The Tower
The Tower The Tower is one of the two main supernatural factions in the World of Darkness. They stand for law and order and support and uphold the Masquerade. They violently oppose the Diabol, superstition, and deny the existence of the ancients and primevals. Ideology The Tower's ideology is based firmly in tradition, law, and order. The Tower is an organization devoted to the preservation of the supernaturals through a law of hiding in plain sight known as the Masquerade. They also follow the Octostatutes and the law of Praxis. The Tower believes in respecting your elders and following the core laws as well as respecting domain and the will of the Prefect or Baron. Government The Government of the Tower is quite complicated, rife with positions and titles, yet the main ones are simple. Every supernatural in a Prefecture or Barony is a citizen of the Tower and must follow the laws of the Baron, the core laws, and the laws of the Prefect. Every Tower citizen answers to the Baron of the district, every Baron is mediated and overseen by the Prefect as is every Tower citizen. The Prefect's answer to the Barons and Bailiff. There is no leading body for the Tower but the Prefects do occasionally meet to discuss the direction of the faction and appoint Generals. Generals act as military leaders in the Tower and are appointed at Convention. Essentially, the Tower's government is based on a city state system where Prefecture's oversee and manage cities while Barons oversee and manage districts of the city and keep the Prefect in check. There is various titles and nuances between that. Customs and Traditions The Tower is full of traditions and customs even besides the core laws. Convention - Convention is a tradition where the Tower in a city or internationally meet and discuss and vote on the direction of the Tower. Locally, this is simply a chance for the Barons and Prefect to meet and discuss honestly and hold votes on specific moves, internationally, it is a grand meeting of all Prefects and Barons where the direction of the Tower is decided, warpaths are voted on, international plans are voted on, Generals are appointed and speeches are made. The Keeper of Convention is the overseer of the whole thing who's office makes sure its fair ground and puts runes up to prevent magical influence. The Keeper of Convention is a position elected by Prefects once every 100 years. The current Keeper of Convention is the Malthusian Noster the Wise who has held the position since 680 AU. Court - Court is a tradition where the Prefect sets up a totally neutral territory in his domain. It is a lot like a medieval court of a king, with everyone there vying for attention and connections. Some Prefect's courts are simply elite social clubs for the supernatural scene where some Prefect's courts are more traditional and the Prefect actually holds court, accepting questions from a throne. Grand Feast - The Grand Feast is a classy ceremony that happens when the Prefect takes office, all barons and tower citizens are invited to a location and it is a social event. Only some Prefectures do this. Titles Prefect - the Prefect is the leader of the Tower in a city and the Overseer of the Barons and all Tower activities. They gain this position through Praxis. Bailiff - the Bailiff is the appointed head of justice of the Tower in a city. It is the Bailiff's job to enforce the Tower's core laws and the Prefecture's laws in the city. Bailiff's can appoint Deputies to aid them. They are appointed by the Prefect. Decrier / Speaker - The Speaker (or in more medieval terms the Decrier) is the voice of the Prefect in the city, making their announcements for them. They are appointed by the Prefect. Courtmaster / Keeper of the Court - The Courtmaster (or Keeper of the Court) is the overseer of the Prefect's court and ensures that it remains neutral ground with no magical influence as well as organizing the events that take place in the court from art displays to debates Court Sorcerer - The Court Sorcerer is the Prefect's appointed advisor on magical affairs. Seneschal - The Seneschal is the Prefect's day to day administrator. They are appointed by the Prefect and hold great power. Deputy - The Deputy is a lawman appointed by the Bailiff to help the Bailiff enforce the laws and keep the Masquerade. Elder - The Elder is a councillor who sits on the Prefecture's council of elders, typically a representative or leader of a bloodline in a city. They are appointed by the Prefect. Consort - The Consort is the spouse of the Prefect, this is a typically medieval position and can be paired with Seneschal. In medieval times, the Tower cities would often use marriage to cement alliances. The position Consort was quite a bit more common then than in modern nights. Keeper of Convention - The Keeper of Convention is an elected international role that keeps neutrality at Convention. They are voted in by the prefect's and Barons. General - the General is an elected international role that leads Tower forces against the Diabol and other enemies as well as being assigned to protect Tower cities that are in trouble. Generals are voted on at Convention and can be unelected at Convention or they can resign. Throughout history there has been only 5 Generals and in modern nights two are serving. Archon - the Archon is a temporary Prefect usually appointed by the General, the Archon keeps the city while the Prefect is selected. Baron - the Baron is a head of a district or smaller piece of land inside a Prefecture. They are equal to the Prefect and are supposed to hold him accountable. Justicar- the Justicar is a fairly medieval Tower title that is essentially a personal hand to the Prefect as opposed to the bailiff who is technically the head of justice. The Justicar has no responsibilities besides serving the Prefect. Logos